Example - Congress (Legislative Branch)

Question 1

Interstate Commerce Power - Landmark Supreme Court Case

Answer 1

Heart of Atlanta Motel v. United States (1964):

• Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination in restaurants, hotels, motels, and jobs.
• The owner of the Heart of Atlanta Motel sued to have the law declared unconstitutional.
• The owner claimed that it was a local business.
• However, the motel advertised on interstate highways and attracted travellers from out of state.
• The Supreme Court ruled that the motel was part of interstate commerce. The Civil Rights Act was declared constitutional.

Question 2

Affordable Care Act - the proposal and passing of the bill

Answer 2

• Signed into law by Barack Obama on the 23rd March 2010 under the 111th Congress
• However, it followed a series of unsuccessful attempts to pass insurance reforms, with similar innovations being limited to the Health Savings Account (2003), Medical Savings Accounts (1996) and Flexible Spending accounts which increased insurance options but did not expand coverage, the main aim of this act
• The Bill originated from The Heritage Foundation, a conservative-think tank, with President Bill Clinton being the first to propose a major healthcare reform bill in 1993 but failed
• After other similar failures with issues between parties, issues with compromise and legislation not making it through both houses
• Healthcare became a major topic of debate during the 2008 Presidential Primaries, with each candidate proposing major changes to healthcare that would aid the 45 million uninsured Americans
• Obama made fixing healthcare one of his main priorities as President - he announced a joint Congress session in 2009 to construct a plan for healthcare reform
• By July of 2009, a series of bills were approved by committees within the house of Representatives, and a series of 31 meetings took place in the Senate to develop a proposal - this eventually went through successfully, resulting in the signing of it into law

Question 3

Aim of the ACA

Answer 3

• Along with the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 amendment, ot represents the most significant regulatory reform and expansion of the healthcare system since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965
• The major provisions of the ACA came into force in 2014

Question 4

Impact of the ACA

Answer 4

• Halved the uninsured population, covering an estimated 20-24 million more people
• Enacted many delivery reforms intended to constrain healthcare costs and improve quality
• Resulted in increases of healthcare spending slowing down, including premiums for employer-based insurance plans
• The increased coverage was mainly due to an expansion of Medicaid eligibility and to changes to individual insurance markets, both of which received more spending, funded through taxes and cuts to Medicare Advantage and provider rates
• Congressional Budget Reports also stated that these provisions reduced the budget deficit, and that repeal of this act would have the opposite effect
• It reduced income inequality, taxing the richest 1% and funding $600 in benefits for families in the bottom 40%
  Insurers were forced to accept all applicants, with no charging on preexisting conditions or demographic status, combating adverse selection by mandating individuals buy insurance that covers a list of ‘essential health benefits’

Question 5

The 2018/2019 Government Shutdown

Answer 5

• Trump was unwilling to compromise on the funding for his border wall, and unwillingness from the Democrats in Congress to fund the project they see as ‘immoral’ has caused shutdown, with the funding not being passed in time.
• The Senate had passed a bipartisan agreement on the money bills; Trump blocked the Senate bills, demanding funding for the wall ad vetoing the bill.
• To attempt to combat this, the Republican controlled House passed bills including funding for the wall but the Democrat controlled Senate prevented Trump securing the 60 votes needed to get the funding through both chambers of Congress.
• Trump was attempting to gain funding through declaring the wall as a part of National Security, and gaining defense department approval, but Congress blocked the funding.

Question 6

The 2021 Government Shutdown

Answer 6

The government passed a stopgap bill to allow federal funding to remain until February to continue preventing complete government shutdown over Biden’s plan to mandate COVID vaccinations for those employed at large companies. The bill was threatened to be derailed over this conflict by Republicans, and the mandate was also blocked by Democrats (increased bipartisanship in this issue)